Reproduction | smithsonianmag.comhttps://www.smithsonianmag.com/rss/tag/reproduction/RSS feed for ReproductionenFri, 18 Sep 2026 14:00:00 +0000A Humpback Whale Mom Stayed With Her Stillborn Calf, Repeatedly Touching It and Staring Into Its Eyes. Was She Grieving?https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/a-humpback-whale-mom-stayed-with-her-stillborn-calf-repeatedly-touchingi-it-and-staring-into-its-eyes-was-she-grieving-180989516/Observed last year off the coast of Queensland, Australia, this event marks the first documentation of a stillbirth in the species, providing a rare glimpse at how the highly social animals respond to deathFri, 18 Sep 2026 14:00:00 +0000https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/a-humpback-whale-mom-stayed-with-her-stillborn-calf-repeatedly-touchingi-it-and-staring-into-its-eyes-was-she-grieving-180989516/To Researchers' Surprise, This Giant Dinosaur Laid Eggs in a Cold Climatehttps://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/to-researchers-surprise-this-giant-dinosaur-laid-eggs-in-a-cold-climate-180989474/A new study suggests that titanosaurs used rotting vegetation to keep their eggs warm much like crocodiles do todayWed, 09 Sep 2026 20:29:56 +0000https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/to-researchers-surprise-this-giant-dinosaur-laid-eggs-in-a-cold-climate-180989474/Reptiles Make a Surprising Amount of Noise. Here's What Those Sounds Might Mean, From Pops to Hoots to Bellowshttps://www.smithsonianmag.com/science-nature/reptiles-make-a-surprising-amount-of-noise-heres-what-those-sounds-might-mean-from-pops-to-hoots-to-bellows-180989422/Scientists are realizing that turtles, lizards and crocodilians communicate vocally more than they once thoughtWed, 02 Sep 2026 11:30:00 +0000https://www.smithsonianmag.com/science-nature/reptiles-make-a-surprising-amount-of-noise-heres-what-those-sounds-might-mean-from-pops-to-hoots-to-bellows-180989422/Female Treefrogs Experience 'Choice Overload' Amid Too Many Mating Calls From Maleshttps://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/female-treefrogs-experience-choice-overload-amid-too-many-mating-calls-from-males-180989411/Faced with a chorus of potential mates, female Cope’s gray treefrogs may be overwhelmed by the number of options and struggle to make a careful decision, a study suggestsTue, 01 Sep 2026 13:42:53 +0000https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/female-treefrogs-experience-choice-overload-amid-too-many-mating-calls-from-males-180989411/An 'Extremely Rare' Half-Male, Half-Female Bird Temporarily Took Up Residence Outside of Chicagohttps://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/an-extremely-rare-half-male-half-female-bird-temporarily-took-up-residence-outside-of-chicago-180989377/The unusual-looking bobolink is what's called a bilateral gynandromorph. The bird behaved like a male, eventually wooing a mate and raising fledglingsFri, 21 Aug 2026 14:00:00 +0000https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/an-extremely-rare-half-male-half-female-bird-temporarily-took-up-residence-outside-of-chicago-180989377/When Did Animals Start Giving Birth to Live Young? This 236-Million-Year-Old Fossil Might Rewrite Mammals' Evolutionary Historyhttps://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/when-did-animals-start-giving-birth-to-live-young-this-236-million-year-old-fossil-might-rewrite-mammals-evolutionary-history-180989343/A bone feature found in a mammal ancestor hints that the creature was relatively large as a newborn, more in line with the size of a creature birthed live than hatched from an egg. Still, it provides only indirect evidenceMon, 17 Aug 2026 16:23:49 +0000https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/when-did-animals-start-giving-birth-to-live-young-this-236-million-year-old-fossil-might-rewrite-mammals-evolutionary-history-180989343/Here's Why These Male Spiders Sacrifice Themselves by Somersaulting Into Females' Fangs While Matinghttps://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/heres-why-these-male-spiders-sacrifice-themselves-by-somersaulting-into-females-fangs-while-mating-180989337/A new study suggest that even strange, complex animal behaviors can have a relatively simple genetic basisFri, 14 Aug 2026 14:00:00 +0000https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/heres-why-these-male-spiders-sacrifice-themselves-by-somersaulting-into-females-fangs-while-mating-180989337/